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Kung Fu Panda 2
'Kung Fu Panda 2' is DreamWorks' 22nd feature film. It is the sequel to 2008's ''Kung Fu Panda. Plot Long ago, Lord Shen, heir of the peacock clan that ruled Gongmen City in China, sought to harness the power of fireworks as a weapon with which to rule the entire country. When he learned from the court's goat soothsayer that "a warrior of black and white" would one day defeat him, Shen assumed she was referring to the giant pandas and had them exterminated to avert the prophecy. Shen's parents were horrified at this atrocity and exiled Shen, who swore revenge. Thirty years later, Po is living his dream as the Dragon Warrior, protecting the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung fu masters, the Furious Five, but is told by Master Shifu that he has yet to achieve inner peace. While fighting off a pack of wolf bandits who have been stealing refined metal for Lord Shen, Po is distracted by a symbol on the head wolf's (Danny McBride) armor, which causes Po to have a flashback of his mother and allows the wolves to escape. Po asks his goose father, Mr. Ping (James Hong), where he came from, but all Ping can tell him is that he found Po as an infant in a radish crate and adopted him. Afterward, Shifu receives word that Master Thundering Rhino (Victor Garber), leader of the kung fu council protecting Gongmen City, has been killed by Lord Shen with his newly developed weapon, a cannon, which threatens to destroy kung fu tradition. Po and the Five go to stop him, reaching Gongmen City to find it under the control of Shen's forces. The heroes find two imprisoned council members, Masters Storming Ox (Dennis Haysbert) and Croc (Jean-Claude Van Damme), and ask their help to liberate the city, but both masters cite their helplessness against Shen's weapon and refuse to escape. Po and the Five are then discovered by the wolf leader, who they chase to prevent him from alerting Shen, only to be captured. Upon being brought before Shen in his tower, Po and the Five free themselves and destroy Shen's cannon. However, Crane burns his wing and Po is again distracted by a flashback upon seeing the same symbol as before on Shen's plumage, allowing Shen to escape and destroy the tower with an arsenal of cannons. After escaping, Tigress (Angelina Jolie) confronts Po over his distraction. Po explains that he remembers Shen's presence on the night he was separated from his parents, and wants to question Shen about his past. Though empathetic, Tigress orders him to stay behind for his own safety. Po regardless breaks into Shen's cannon factory to confront Shen, inadvertently foiling the Five's attempts to destroy the factory. Shen claims that Po's parents abandoned him before he blasts Po out of the factory and captures the Five. Po is rescued by Shen's soothsayer, who has been exiled by Shen to the ruined village where Po was born. Guided by the soothsayer to embrace his past, Po remembers that his parents had endangered themselves to save him from Shen's forces, his mother hiding him in a crate before she was subdued. Attaining inner peace, Po returns to Gongmen City to save the captive Five from being executed by Shen at the city harbor. During the ensuing battle (in which Shifu participates after having persuaded Ox and Croc to do the same), Po uses his inner peace to gauge Shen's cannon fire and redirect it against Shen's armada. He then urges Shen to let go of his own past, but Shen refuses and attacks Po until Shen inadvertently slashes the ropes holding up his last cannon, which falls and crushes him to death. Victorious, Po returns to the Valley of Peace and reunites with Mr. Ping, declaring him to be his father. At the same time, Po's biological father (Fred Tatasciore) is shown to be alive in a hidden village inhabited by surviving pandas, sensing that his son is also alive. Voice Cast * Jack Black as Po * Angelina Jolie as Master Tigress * Gary Oldman as Lord Shen * Jackie Chan as Master Monkey * Seth Rogen as Master Mantis * Lucy Liu as Master Viper * David Cross as Master Crane * Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifu * James Hong as Mr. Ping * Michelle Yeoh as Soothsayer * Danny McBride as Boss Wolf * Dennis Haysbert as Master Storming Ox * Jean-Claude Van Damme as Master Croc * Victor Garber as Master Thundering Rhino * Liam Knight as Baby Po * Fred Tatasciore as Panda Dad Production Kung Fu Panda 2 is the sequel to Kung Fu Panda. The first film was released in June 2008, and by the following October, the studio DreamWorks Animation announced plans for a second film with the subtitle Pandamoneum, which was changed by 2010 to The Kaboom of Doom before simply being retitled to Kung Fu Panda 2. Jennifer Yuh Nelson, who was head of story for the first film, was hired to direct the sequel. The original film's cast members reprised their voice roles. Like the other DreamWorks Animation films that began production in 2009, Kung Fu Panda 2 was produced in DreamWorks' stereoscopic 3-D technology of InTru 3D. The studio also plans to release the film in IMAX theaters worldwide. Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, screenwriters and co-producers for the first film, returned to write and co-produce the sequel, with Charlie Kaufman consulting on the screenplay early on in the development process. In Kung Fu Panda 2, the production crew showed increased familiarity with Chinese culture. In 2008, after the release of Kung Fu Panda, DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg and other DreamWorks members visited the city of Chengdu, which is considered as the "panda hometown". In addition to seeing real pandas, crew members learned about the local culture. Katzenberg has stated that Kung Fu Panda 2 incorporates many elements of Chengdu in the film. The film's landscape and architecture also found inspiration from those found at Mount Qingcheng, a renowned Taoist mountain. In an interview with Movieline, Berger stated that "we never really thought of this as a movie set in China for Americans; it's a movie set in an mythical, universalized China for everyone in the world." Reception Critical response The film has received critical acclaim, with many critics praising its animation, voice acting, and character development. The film received a "Certified Fresh" score of 82% on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on reviews from 156 critics and a rating average of 6.9 out of 10, with the consensus being that "The storyline arc may seem a tad familiar to fans of the original, but Kung Fu Panda 2 offers enough action, comedy, and visual sparkle to compensate." It also received a weighted average score of 67 out of 100 at Metacritic, based on 31 reviews from mainstream critics. Variety called the film "a worthy sequel that gets an extra kick from the addition of dynamic 3D fight sequences," while The Hollywood Reporter similarly praised the film. Roger Ebert gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, praising the sequel as superior to the original and as an ambitious extension of the previous story. As with the first film, the animation has been praised. Frank Lovece of Film Journal International describes the film as "truly beautiful to behold" and states it "works on both aesthetic and emotional levels". Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times writes that "For Panda 2 is not just wall-to-wall animation, it is artistry of the highest order." Many critics have praised Gary Oldman for his voice acting and developed characterization of Lord Shen, with some comparing him favorably to Ian McShane's voice performance as Tai Lung in the original film. Angie Errigo of Empire Magazine described Oldman as "...fabulous as the feathered fiend and his character animators do his performance proud with a stunning, balletic fighting style, the fan tail flicking with lethal fascination." Jason Best of What's on TV writes, "Following Ian McShane from the first film as the obligatory British thespian to fill the role of villain, Gary Oldman brings silky menace to the part of the evil Shen." Kyle Smith of The New York Post writes, "It's a bit hard to be terrified of a peacock (the snow leopard in the first movie was way more sinister). But the animators are in charge, and they succeed in dazzling with Lord Shen's look." Box office performance The film grossed $165,249,063 in the United States and Canada, along with $497,775,479 in other territories, for a worldwide total of $663,024,542, surpassing the original Kung Fu Panda during late-August 2011. Worldwide, it is currently the highest-grossing animated film of 2011, the 9th highest-grossing animated film ever released, the 49th highest-grossing film of all time, and the fourth highest-grossing film of 2011 behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. On its first weekend, it earned $108.9 million worldwide, ranking third behind Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and The Hangover Part II. In the United States and Canada, on its Thursday opening day, the film earned $5.8 million, taking 2nd place to The Hangover: Part II. On Friday, the film earned $13.1 million, which was behind the original's $20.3 million opening-Friday. Over the 3-day weekend, the film earned $47.7 million, which was behind the first film's $60.2 million start. The film went on to make $13.2 million on Memorial Day, bringing its 4-day weekend total to $60.9 million. Overall, the film made $66.7 million in its first five days, but it still trailed behind the original film's 5-day opening of $72.6 million. Altogether, the film earned the same amount of money in five days as the original Kung Fu Panda did in four. However, the opening still came in at the high end of DreamWorks Animation's expectations. It also had the 6th highest opening weekend for a film that did not debut at #1. Even though the film out-grossed some of Dreamworks Animation's more recent films (like Shark Tale, Over the Hedge, Megamind, and Bee Movie) in North America, it did not perform as well as some people expected. Reasons cited for this relative under-performance of the film in the United States and Canada included inadequate marketing by DreamWorks Animation as noted by analyst Tony Wible of Janney Capital Markets, prior to release, who observed the film was tracking poorly online compared to its predecessor. Another reason cited after release was a growing American and Canadian marketplace rejection of 3D presentation with its coupled surcharge in movie ticket prices, apparently making the film too expensive for many film patrons. As a result, only 45% of the premiere weekend box office earnings of the film's came from screenings in the 3D presentation format as opposed to 60% for Shrek Forever After in 2010. Jeffrey Katzenberg, DreamWorks Animation's chief executive, also attributed to the film's under-performance in these territories for being released the same weekend as The Hangover Part II, a film that an unexpectedly large number of people went to see. However, the film has proven a major international success, opening simultaneously with its North American debut in 11 markets, premiering at #1 in 9. The total foreign box office earnings on its first weekend were $55.5 million, landing in 3rd place on the weekend behind Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and The Hangover Part II. It reached #1 at the overseas box office on its 3rd weekend, opening at #1 in of each of its 17 territorial premieres, including the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Brazil. It retained 1st place overseas on the following weekend with $58.2 million, opening at number one in a few more territories, including Germany, France, and Spain and holding well in markets (like Mexico). The film had exceptional earnings in Asian territories. In China, its highest-grossing market after the U.S.A. and Canada, it had a $19.3 million 2-day weekend, setting a new record for a Saturday opening day and a record for a 2-day opening weekend in the country. It has earned $92,174,033 by July 14, 2011, which makes it the highest-grossing animated film of all time in the country, surpassing previous record-holder Kung Fu Panda ($26,024,298). It scored the largest opening weekend of all time for an animated film in Malaysia, $1,663,199, and became the highest-grossing animated film of all time, surpassing Tangled ($3.0 million) by its 2nd weekend. In Philippines, it earned $1,958,888 on its opening which was the largest for an animated title and became the highest-grossing animated title, surpassing Toy Story 3 ($3.4 million) by its 2nd weekend. In Singapore, with $2,627,425, it made the largest opening weekend of all time. Surpassing the original Kung Fu Panda ($4.3 million) by its 2nd weekend, it became the largest animated feature of all time in the country. In South Korea, upon release, it earned $12,802,267, scoring the 4th largest opening weekend of all time and the biggest for animated title. In Thailand, it made the largest opening for an animation film ($950,590) and became the highest-grossing animated film of all time in total earnings as well. Both records were taken from Toy Story 3. Similarly in Vietnam, it made two records of being the highest-grossing film ever ($2,287,299) and making the hugest opening with $1 million in its first five days, records taken from Avatar. In India, the film earned INR5,250,000 in its first week. The film also helped Dreamworks Animation raise its 2nd quarter revenue of $218.3 million and a profit of $34.1 million for the 3-month period that ended on June 30, 2011, which was an improvement over the same period a year ago when the company posted revenue of $158.1 million and a $24 million profit. On August 30, 2011, with a gross of $653,254,363, Kung Fu Panda 2 surpassed Mamma Mia!'s worldwide box-office total of $609.8 million to become the highest-grossing film ever directed by a woman. References Category:Drama